The Beauty of Ajisai

It is amazing how much we take for granted the little things. Yeah, I know this might come off as being a bit cliché but I think it is rather apposite in light of a recent discovery of mine. Well, maybe discovery is not the right word but it was indeed a first for me.

These plants are what the Japanese call Ajisai. They usually come after the cherry blossom season. Their emergence signal the approaching sultry summer months. Their departure announce the arrival of such.

Just as it is with the cherry blossoms, some Japanese go to watch and take pictures of the Ajisai plant. It was recommended that I do a weekend viewing, but my tight work schedule, which saw me crashing on weekends caused me to keep on putting it off.

One day I stumbled upon them while on my way to work. Along the side of the steep incline which takes me up to the office, the flowers were budding. At first, I never saw them. For one, they were in their nascent state. Plus, as always, I was rushing to get into the office and so I barely saw them. It wasn’t until some of them were in full bloom that I stopped to observe them. It took me a few days of savoring their beauty before I decided to photograph and subsequently write about these plants.

That was a few months ago. I have been sitting on this piece for a while but finally, this has emerged. I anticipate the coming of spring next year so that I may once more look upon these oh-so-beautiful specimens.